Studio Gratitude

I had been in a pretty good habit of keeping up a gratitude list because of reading “Simple Abundance” But at the end of 2012, and the end of the book, I let this habit slide a little bit.

This week I’ve been pushing myself to get back into the habit of writing down 5 things every night that I am grateful for. Most nights it’s not a very profound list. And some nights it’s just a run down of the basic things that I am grateful for: Bear, Remi, our house, a good meal and a cozy bed.

Often though, regardless of the rest of the list’s content, or rather I actually made it into my studio that day, my studio often makes it onto my gratitude list. I feel so grateful that I have a space all my own in our home. A space that I can collect, organize and decorate anyway I please. And a space where I can leave all my projects out, waiting for my next visit.

These are photos of some of the things that I have been working on so for in 2013. The above collage was actually a reject from a project last summer. So I started glueing more paper pieces on top and adding paint. It’s definitely morphed quiet a bit, and had some “ugly teenage” stages, but it’s coming along and I’m starting to like how it’s turning out now. This close up shows how bits of the under layers show through, giving the collage more depth.

This painting was also a redo. I didn’t like the finished collage so I decided to rework it. I added lots of punched out circles and a lace doily that I’ve had for some time. Then I had fun with my fluid acrylic paints changing the colors of the entire piece.

This series of photos shows how I like to play with my paper pieces before gluing anything down. There are actually 2 different collages at work here. Sometimes I think it would just be so much easier if I went with my first placement and just moved forward. A lot of times, I keep moving pieces around, wandering what’s the best composition, which can be good, but it also can be some what inhibiting of the creative process.

This larger canvas is a brand new one that I started this year. I don’t have any plan for it, I just keep coming back to the canvas and adding another layer: dripping paint, bubble wrap stamping and large brush strokes.